It’s supposed to be a “silky-sheer powder blush that … gives cheeks a … natural-looking pop of color” with a matte finish and long-wear. It can be applied as a veil of sheer color, and in fact, does better when applied that way, but it is buildable to heavier color. Pink Rose had a stubborn texture; dry, stiff, and difficult to work with. It was challenging to dislodge enough product to get even, consistent color, and the powder didn’t want to blend easily on the cheeks, either. I really felt like I had to jab at the surface to get any color payoff or product out of the pan. It’s a shame as the color cold be very workable on both cool and warm-toned skin as a subtler, everyday kind of shade but also as something more dramatic once built up. The product managed to wear mostly intact for about eight hours, but it was hard to determine, as it looked patchy initially (so, so difficult to blend!).

Normally, I like Bobbi Brown’s blush range for a formula that’s mostly matte, pigmented, and blendable, but Pastel Pink was so dry and stiff. This was another shade from the collection that I had to scrape off layers of color just to get a “heavy” swatch of color. I really had to swirl and pack on the color to get enough payoff to show up on my skin tone for photographs and testing. If you have any scratchy brushes, I’d recommend using it with this, because it will help dig into the product to yield more payoff. While I can appreciate that fairer skin tones often prefer a blush that’s not so intense so they can use it with ease, the texture makes this one hard to use even if all you want is soft color. It’s not very blendable and really needs to be buffed and worked into the skin as it has a tendency to stick and look splotchy. It lasted for seven hours well, and after eight hours, there was noticeable fading.

Bobbi Brown Pretty Pink Blush ($25.00 for 0.13 oz.) is described as a “warm baby pink.” It’s a light-medium strawberry pink with subtle blue undertnoes against my skin tone. It looked a little cool-toned in the pan, too. The finish was mostly matte. MAC Stay Pretty is lighter. NARS Angelika is a smidgen darker and bluer-toned. MAC Weekend Getaway is similar but cream. Tarte Dollface is lighter. It seemed darker than the original Pretty Pink that came in a palette previously.

The texture of Pretty Pink was on the dry side, but it is plenty pigmented; you can get true-to-pan color if desired, but not so much gets picked up on the brush that you can’t get a subtler look if that’s what you prefer. I recommend building up the layers, because the drier texture made this blush less blendable than ideal once applied to the skin. I liked that it seemed to melt against the skin, though, and the finish looked wonderfully natural on. Pretty Pink wore well for seven hours, and after eight, there was some slight fading around the edges.

Bobbi Brown’s blush formula is supposed to feel silky and have long-lasting wear. The texture is very soft and smooth–it has a very finely-milled texture that applies with a mostly matte finish. What I really liked was how the matte finish didn’t make this a powdery product, which can often happen with drier, matte textures like this one. It doesn’t look dry or patchy on the cheeks either–it has a very soft, natural appearance without shimmer or sheen. I wore this last week to test out the wear, and this shade managed to last for a solid eight hours. I love that the blush can be used as a standalone product or popped out and inserted into a larger palette–even if it is a third to a half the size of your average blush.

Bobbi Brown nude Peach Blush ($24.00 for 0.13 oz.) is described as a “pale nude nectar.” It recently debuted in the Neons and Nudes collection but should now be part of the permanent range. It’s a darkened peach-orange with a satin-like sheen and a faint hint of shimmer. It has good color payoff, but it’s not a blush you’d describe as intense. Burberry Tangerine is similar but darker, less peach. Chanel Espiegle is more orange, lighter. Urban Decay Indecent is more orange. MAC Melba is darker, more orange.

The texture is soft without being powdery, so it applies subtly at first but the color can be built up. There’s a soft glowy finish, because the shimmer is downplayed, the sheen is more emphasized. On my skin tone, it adds a peach glow. It should work as a blusher on light to medium skin tones, but darker complexions may find it acts more as a warm highlighter. Bobbi Brown’s blush formula, when I tested out this shade, wore well for eight hours. I like that you can easily pop out the blushes to put into palettes, but I’m not so keen on the minimal quantity provided–0.13 oz. is about a third to a half the size of your average blush. If you own more than a handful of blushes, you’re not likely to finish this quickly by any means, though.